Leonard Hamilton Game Quotations

We had a very difficult time there toward the end of the game getting the right stops. I thought we played good enough defense for the most part, but you have to give Duke a lot of credit. When the game's on the line, they made some real tough shots that were very well defended and that's what great players will do.

Getting beat on the boards seemed to be a very significant part of this game. You have to give them a lot of credit for pounding the glass. It seemed like every time we've played them the last couple of years, they've been much better prepared on the boards than we have. We got beat by a team that did the things they need to do within their scheme in order to win the game tonight.

He works at his game as much as any player I've ever seen. A guy with that kind of attitude, you know he's going to continue to keep getting better.

I think every game for everybody is important -whether it's home or whether it's on the road. I think you can throw out home-court advantages this year.

I think the situation that this game possesses will create an atmosphere that will require everyone to be focused. I would be surprised if we don't get the most out of everybody.

We did not meet their style of ball with the type of enthusiasm that we should have. Maybe this is the type of game we needed to keep reality in front of us. We are not a team that can afford not to be at our very best mentally every time we step out.

Diaz and Hite were too much for us. When the game was on the line, I think they made a few more plays than we did. You have to give Diaz and Hite credit. They were defended about as well as you could defend them.

Todd miraculously played rather well considering he hadn't practiced all week. We didn't know until game time if he was going to play.

The team kind of hung together. This is the kind of game that will test your character and your togetherness and your spirit.

When we made mistakes, they made us pay. Most times you have one game like this per year, and hopefully, this will be our only one.

With each game you play, if you win it, you cant let yourself get too excited because there is another tough opponent coming right behind it. And if you lose it, you cant wallow in self-pity, you have to put that behind you, learn from it, and grow and then move on to the next game.

As I was coming in (the interview room), I was thinking about how much energy he brought to the game tonight. His comments and his enthusiasm on the bench and his communication with the players was extremely animated, unlike A.J. Sometimes he is very quiet, but he had a lot to say.

This is the first game of the second third of our season. In the ACC every game will be similar to what we had today.

I'm very happy and proud for them because they've been model citizens. They keep our 100 percent graduation rate intact. But more than anything they're fine people. They're good basketball players, but I'm most proud of the fact that they have helped us move our program forward. Their last home game will be something to remember.

It's painful, to lose a close game like this. Close is not what we're trying to do. You've got to get over the hump by winning these types of games.

I know in my 30 years of coaching I have never heard of a player getting injured under any circumstances in a celebration after a game - not at a basketball game. Maybe you guys have, but I haven't.

He's to be congratulated and commended, especially when you take under consideration that he had such a young team. They really, really exhibited teamwork and unity and played the game the way it's supposed to be played.

He's only scratched the surface of his potential. I knew he played the game with an extreme passion, he enjoyed playing and I knew that we needed those kind of players at Florida State because you knew they were going to get better.

There was a period where he kind of backed off his offensive aggressiveness to be a good team member. Now that we're kind of a little more in sync, the nature of the game is giving him certain opportunities.

For him to find the energy to go out and give it all when we really needed this game says a lot about his character, how much he's grown up and how much this team is making sacrifices for one another.

This was a very important game for Maryland tonight and a very important game for us. We have a team that is maturing a little bit.